Vedanta Resources : Chairman's Statement

VEDANTA RESOURCES plc

2015 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

MONDAY, 3 AUGUST 2015 AT 3:00 PM

IRONMONGERS' HALL, SHAFTESBURY PLACE, LONDON EC2Y 8AA

CHAIRMAN'S INTRODUCTION

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I would like to welcome you all to the Annual General Meeting of Vedanta Resources.

During the year, your company continued to build on its business achievements since listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2003. Our portfolio of global operations in India, Africa, Ireland and Australia continues to produce the vital commodities which the world needs. There is no doubt that it has been a year in which the natural resources sector saw challenges, due to decline in commodity prices and lower demand. But I take confidence that we are navigating this downturn and we have maintained financial stability.

I firmly believe that Vedanta is well-positioned, as a leading natural resources developer, to take advantage of future growth. Over the next few years, 2.5 billion people worldwide are expected to be middle-class consumers and professionals, a third of these being Indians. We are fortunate to be able to work with the world's largest, democratic nation. India's 1.2 billion-strong population will drive unmatched domestic demand as the country's international profile steadily rises.

The country offers abundant growth and natural resource development opportunities. India needs many more natural resources companies like Vedanta, supplying iron ore, copper, aluminium, zinc and oil and gas for this rapidly developing country and its growing population.

We are very supportive of Prime Minister Modi and his government's initiatives such as "Make in India". And as India's only diversified natural resources provider, we remain focused on our own "Find in India" vision to unlock the nation's vast resource potential.

We have both an opportunity and a responsibility to contribute to the growth and to raise the living standards in India and other countries where we operate. We continue to be one of the largest employers in the country as well as one of the largest corporate contributors to the Indian exchequer.

In fact, this year we contributed $4.6 billion to national exchequers around the world.

In Africa, where we have had operations for more than a decade, I am very positive about the future of our assets and the African mining industry. We have a long-term commitment to this incredible continent. At our Gamsberg Zinc project in South Africa we broke ground just a few days ago. Gamsberg is one of the world's largest undeveloped deposits of zinc: a commodity which has a rising demand and shrinking supply.

We remain committed to our operations in Zambia. We are working closely with the government and will maintain our focus on local community development. It is heartening to note that the Namibian High Commissioner to Zambia, Leonard Nambahu, on his recent visit to KCM's outlined plans to benchmark CSR programmes with KCM's community initiatives for the Namibian community.

As your Chairman, my aim is to find ways that will benefit all our stakeholders. This year, the name change of Sesa Sterlite to Vedanta Limited positions our group, as a united and aligned identity, strengthening the linkage between our global businesses and communities.

We are constantly seeking to simplify the corporate structure of Vedanta. And this will be further strengthened through the merger between Vedanta Limited and Cairn India Limited that we announced this year. This merger will further consolidate our position as India's natural resources champion, with a diversified portfolio of assets which will deliver strong cash flows and reduce earnings volatility. We are confident that it will create significant value for both sets of shareholders, as well as for Vedanta Resources. And I am delighted that the boards of Vedanta Limited and Cairn India have unanimously recommended the merger.

Our stakeholders include our communities. By listening to their concerns, we seek to deliver mutual value, by operating a sustainable business with a belief that Vedanta has a purpose beyond profit. In July of this year, we hosted our first Sustainability Day for analysts and investors - a very successful event which we hope to replicate.

We are fully committed to working in partnership with the communities. I am proud to say that this year we invested over US$42 million in community development in India and Africa, and we found innovative ways to bring about economic empowerment and social mobility to 4 million people.

We have our energetic, dedicated and talented people to thank for this. I take this opportunity to commend the hard-working Vedanta team. Together, we have created a value-based and empowered organisation that is well-positioned for the next stage of growth.

As you know, the health, safety and well-being of our 82,000-strong workforce are paramount, and as our Chief Executive, Tom Albanese always says, - we foster a culture of zero harm across our operations. This year, we made great strides towards achieving this aim and saw fewer fatalities. However, neither Tom nor I will be satisfied until we have a zero harm business.

I would also like to thank all of our shareholders, investors, community at large and the governments who have continued to support us. With your guidance, contribution and support, I am optimistic that we will take Vedanta to greater heights in times to come.